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B.S. Computer Science

Did you know that Software Developer is consistently listed as one of the best technology jobs in the United States?

UW-Stout's Bachelor of Science in Computer Science program provides you with the option to select a concentration that reflects your interests and career goals. The program provides you with strong analytical skills, technical abilities and hands-on experiences creating user-friendly, graphically based software for a variety of industries and applications. You'll obtain industry experience applying your computing skills through a co-op or internship during the summer prior to your junior or senior year. This is in addition to hands-on capstone courses in which you work in a team to design, implement, test and deliver a fully-functional software application to a client.

Top Game Design Schools 2018!

Modern games are among the most demanding of computer programming applications, requiring knowledge of advanced mathematics and physics which form the basis of the 3D graphics, artificial intelligence and game engines that make up the game programs. To be successful in the industry, you must be skilled in computer science and be able to work in teams to create games.

Mobile device use is exploding. New data storage, processing and display technologies have allowed tablets and other portable devices to do nearly anything that had previously been done with larger personal computers. The number of smartphone users in the world is expected to reach 2.6 billion by 2019.

Ready to play: Stout's Annual Game Expo to feature 30-plus projects

April 28th, 2017.
Fans of video games, and other games, should mark Thursday, May 4, on their calendar

We are living in the 'Digital Age.' Computer programs continue to permeate every aspect of our lives. Every industry uses computers and requires professionals that have skills in computer science. Individuals depend on computing for everyday activities from social networking to entertainment.

High school preparation should include four years of English as well as four years of mathematics. A physics course and as many computer science or other science classes as possible are recommended.

During your first semesters at UW-Stout, you'll enroll in a combination of general education and major courses. General education courses, including English composition, speech, science and others, are required of all students at UW-Stout. Your schedule will include introductory major courses in computer science and mathematics. To discuss your academic progress and future course work, you'll meet regularly with your adviser. Together you'll develop an academic plan for graduation to help you achieve your career objectives. Good student-faculty rapport is a UW-Stout tradition, and you'll get to know your teachers during your first year.

After you complete introductory courses in the major, your schedule each semester will include core courses in your concentration along with course work in computer science.

A co-op/internship experience is required as an integral part of your education. It will give you hands-on experience in industry, allowing you to acquire an appreciation of career expectations and an understanding of the relevance of your academic course work. You'll develop communication and interpersonal skills while obtaining valuable work experience in your field. In addition, these are salaried positions so the experience helps to pay your educational costs.

The Computer Science program’s educational objectives are based on the mission of the university to create career-focused graduates who solve real-world problems, grow the economy and serve a global society. The educational objectives of the program, which the graduates can achieve within a few years of graduation, are:

To obtain employment in industry, government, small businesses and organizations successfully using the skills they acquired in computer science and related fields.

To contribute to the advancement of computing through leadership, teamwork, communication, and applying computing expertise to solving problems in a dynamically changing world.

To continuously learn and adapt to the changing environment created by societal and technical influences through continued career growth and professional development.

Student Outcomes

The Computer Science program develops graduates who have an ability to:

Analyze a complex computing problem and to apply principles of computing and other relevant disciplines to identify solutions.

Design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program’s discipline.

Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts.

Recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles.

Function effectively as a member or leader of a team engaged in activities appropriate to the program’s discipline.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Career Guide to Industries for 2014-15 states that "Software developers are the creative minds behind computer programs. Employment in software development is projected to increase by 22 percent through 2022."

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development predicts a 21.9 percent increase in the number of computer software applications engineers from 2010-2020.

The knowledge and skills gained in the Game Design and Development concentration are applicable in any software development position. The game entertainment industry is the most recognized, but game development skills are also used for serious purposes, such as military training, education, personal medical assistance, and business simulations. The video game industry is an emerging industry in Wisconsin. Raven Software, of Middleton, is the largest and most established (1990). Other Wisconsin companies include Human Head Studios (Madison), Guild Software (Milwaukee), Filament Games (Madison), Learning Games Network (Madison), PerBlue (Madison), ZyMo Entertainment (Green Bay), and Digital Iris (Milwaukee).

Mobile applications are developed by many industries for customer convenience and internal use. Creating successful apps requires knowledge in various areas such as programming, human-computer interface, databases, graphics, security, and web/internet programming. Personally, we use apps to interact with our mobile devices, but ultimately with each other. Social media continues to grow and apps allow us to get our daily news and information, talk to our friends, post our photos, watch videos, and more.

New Freshmen

Rank in the top 40 percent of your class (or for high schools that do not rank, earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale)and

minimum ACT composite score of 23 (or SAT equivalent)and

minimum ACT math score of 24 (or SAT equivalent)

If you do not meet all of the academic requirements above, but you do meet the requirements for general admission to the university, you will be admitted as an Undeclared student. You may then apply for a change of major in subsequent semesters.

Transfer Students

Applicants must meet all of the following requirements:

earn a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.5 or higher from the last institution attendedand

earn a grade of "C" or higher for all math and computer science courses already takenand

complete the equivalent of UW-Stout's MATH 121 Intro to College Math II (trigonometry or pre-calculus) or a higher level math course with a grade of "C" or better.

If you do not meet all of the academic requirements above, but you do meet the requirements for general admission to the university, you will be admitted as an Undeclared student. You may then apply for a change of major in subsequent semesters.